Yay! New toys!

Christmas came a little early for Snoball. Well, he'll still be getting something for christmas with the other birds, but he got all this in addition:



That's a massive photo so you might have to open it in a separate window. There were a lot of toys to get into the picture. I also took this one (because I luffs his foots):



I'm going to hunt down a big wicker basket to keep them all in. I already have a small basket that sits on his tree stand and holds his little toys. The blocks came in a big plastic bag but the zipper was broken and it was covered in sticky stuff. I threw that away as quickly as possible... So now I want a big wicker basket that can sit on the floor beside his cage and hold all his blocks. :)

New toys tomorrow!

We went thrifting today (Snoball included) and found a GREAT bag of toys for him. I paid $3 and got a bag of probably 100 JUMBO sized lego blocks, as well as some little people and rattles and random items that were just thrown into the bag. I sorted through it all and threw away all unsafe items. The Snoball-approved ones are soaking overnight in a bleach-vinegar solution to kill any germs that might be lingering. Tomorrow will be like christmas for Snoball. David and I are going to build a little castle with the blocks and put the people inside, then unleash T-5 (Snoball) upon them. They'll never know what hit them...

Pics tomorrow!

Detailing the Car

Snoball went with me to get the car detailed today. We spent the day cleaning cages and then went outside. He played on the tops of the door frames while I organized inside the car. Most of the organizing was simply moving stuff to the trunk because it was getting dark and I didn't want the place to close. We rushed off to the bank where we had a lot of trouble making a deposit. First the drive-up ATM was broken, so I went to the teller window where I was informed that the don't give deposit slips through the window anymore and without one I couldn't make a deposit. So the only option was the walk-up ATM which I didn't want to use since I had Snoball with me. There was a nice old man waiting for the machine so it worked out well. He had lots of questions about Snoball and Snoball apparently had a lot to say to him.

After depositing money we were able to go to the car wash. Everyone thought Snoball was so handsome, and he handled everything really well. I thought for sure he'd get scared of the big brushes and things, but he just held on tightly and sat still. He was a little nervous, but that's about it. He's gotten so much braver when it comes to car things. He climbs onto the steering wheel to look outside when we're at stop lights, and he doesn't get car sick anymore. He hasn't been car sick in at least a month. (And we've driven a LOT during that time.)

Snoball helped me pick up David from work and we all had egg noodles with veggie broth for dinner when we got home. He's tired out and is sleeping soundly now ... even though the bunnies are running around and making a ruckus getting into things. (He spent the afternoon chasing them around the house which is probably PART of why he's so tired. Have you ever tried to chase a rabbit? -lol-)

Snoball visits Grandma

Snoball got to visit David's mom yesterday. They've met once before and she adores him. She has a very calming aura about her so Snoball took right to her. She bird-sat him for about 30 min while David and I went across the street to shop for a new vehicle. He's getting a small amount of money from inheritance so we want to get a vehicle for him. Of course there are a million other things we'd rather buy, but a car is pretty important. We've been sharing a car ever since we met and it's getting very old. Yesterday I thought I was scheduled to work but when I got there I realized I'd made a mistake. Well, neither of us had a cell phone so I couldn't call David to come back and pick me up. Snoball and I took a walk and stopped by a bycicle store to see about getting a repair done (that's what I'm asking for as a birthday gift from my family). Of course everyone asked about Snoball, who was very polite and said hi to everyone. I did finally get a hold of David and he came back to pick us up.

So, all in all, Snoball has been visiting family and friends lately and is doing well. :)

P.S. - the waterfall photo has nothing to do with anything. I just thought it was pretty.

Snoball's bath

Snoball took a bath with David and me today. Well, shower I should say. Showers are always more fun with three. -lol- He'd actually dried off a bit when that photo was taken. He kept holding his foot out for us to stick him back into the water. He put his whole body in the stream of water and ruffled all his feathers up. I love when he does that - so cute! :)

Updates

Snoball is currently in his "prison" (cage). He is being terrible to me today (biting and screaming) and I needed a break to sit down and write this. He was easily distracted with a walnut. BTW - I found a great farmer's market about 30 minutes from me that sells all sorts of nuts for $2 a pound. The cheapest I've EVER seen them in stores (when they're in season) is $2.50/ pound. Needless to say, I was excited about that.

So - the updates! Hmm, what updates? Well, Snoball has met my family. All except for my sister, that is. My dad is of the opinion that animals belong outside, not inside in cages or kept as pets. (I think he just likes to say that because he never wanted to clean up after one.) So he was reluctant to meet Snoball, but I have to say ... it went over REALLY well. I even met my dad yesterday at Home Depot to work out a new toy idea for Snoball. We want to make him something that is basically an assemblage of stainless steel nuts, bolts, washers, screws, etc. We tossed around a lot of ideas but I Came up with a new one last night that might be perfect. I'd like to drill holes through PVC pipes, and slide the screws and various hardware through the holes. That wouldn't be safe if Snoball chewed (a LOT) on the PVC, but I know he'll be far more interested in taking the hardware out so I dont think it'll be a problem. (I'll post more on that when it's done. Stainless Steel is expensive so this will be an on-going project.)

Snoball is still happy and healthy and everyone at my condo is getting to know him. Just today I came in the door with him and an elderly man said, "Oh! There he is! Hello, fella." Of course Snoball responded with a "Hello" and a "Hi" and got himself a lot of praise. :)

I have a horrible head cold and my brain is not thinking clearly today. To make up for the rotten update, how about a bunch of photos? ;)

Snoball and I with my dad's crew: Sammy (the cat who thinks he's a dog) and Coco:



"Are you watching me? Hey! Hey! Are you paying attention? Look at me."



Wendy's baked potato with cheese: guaranteed to reduce Snoball to big, puppy-dog eyes:



At my dad's house, under the Serenity Tree (my fave tree):



"What's your problem? Can't a bird drink in peace?"



Playing in David's studio:



Did Snoball give Pepper that flower in a gesture of romance or friendship? No. Of course not. She picked it for herself, and he is contemplating stealing it...



And the only picture I have of Snoball and Pepper playing together (because this was the ONLY time it happened! -lol-)

Melons!

Snoball and I just finished cleaning the kitchen. (And by "Snoball and I," I mean I cleaned while he sat and watched and munched on whatever I had.) After the kitchen was clean, Snoball, Pepper, and I shared some cantaloupe and watermelon. :)

Watermelon:


Cantaloupe:

Snoball is my Prince Charming

I didn't want anyone to see the mess that is my house, so I colored over the background of this photo. -lol- We still have junk everywhere from the move, and we're in no hurry to move it. Plus all the animals have toys everywhere. The bunnies have play tunnels and boxes and things all over the living room. It's kind of a permanent clutter because the bunnies love them so much.

This blog doesn't have much of a point to it. I just wanted to let Snoball's first parents know how thankful I am to have Snoball in my life. He's become such a HUGE part of it - integrating himself into every aspect of it. He goes to work with me, he sleeps with me, he does homework with me (as evidenced by the photo) he plays with me, cooks with me, he DEFINITELY eats with me; if there's something in my mouth it NEEDS to be in his too. -lol- I just feel very blessed to have him. I call him my therapy bird. Partly because that's the only way I'm allowed to keep him in a no-pets apartment ;) and partly because it's true. Whenever I'm feeling down, Snoball can always cheer me up. I don't know what I'd do without him.

Someone asked me today what his name was and I jokingly replied: Prince Charming.

Snoball (almost) burns the house down

Snoball is fine and everyone is fine - nothing terrible happened. But we were very lucky. Last night Snoball had two nightfrights. I woke up to him screaming several times and I was getting tired of getting up to comfort him. So I brought him into bed with me. He was fine for a while, and then he went under the covers and went to sleep. I then fell asleep only to be woken about 2 hours later by a loud popping noise and sparks flying everywhere. I looked under the covers at Snoball, who was chewing the wires for the heating pad I keep under my feet at night. He had torn the cord to shreds. We're lucky he didn't electrocute himself or catch something on fire. None of the sparks caught - thank god because it would have lit the bed on fire. Snoball wasn't even put off by any of it. He just looked at me sideways and made a baby noise - the same thing he does whenever he's trying to get out of trouble.

David and I counted our blessings today, that's for sure. And we're not letting Snoball under the covers anymore. Or near ANY wires for that matter. But he is safe and we are safe so (this time) no harm done.

Snoball's Mood Swings

Snoball's hormones seem to be raging. He gets upset easier lately, and has been biting more and more. Normally a quick "bzzzt" and shake of my hand is enough to distract him from biting my fingers. (He doesn't puncture, just applies pressure ... a LOT of pressure) but lately that hasn't been enough. Stage 1 is a quick shake, stage two is a flip upside down, and stage 3 is being put on the floor and walked away from. Lately, not only have we been having to go to stage 3, but he's been chasing my feet once he's on the floor. I tried to turn that into a game at first, but he couldn't do it without getting too rough and getting angry. So now, we have to have a stage 4, which is picked up with wings tucked in, and taken straight to the cage.

Stage 4 doesn't happen often. Usually once he gets walked away from he gets upset and immediately stops being a bully. He'd rather get snuggled than ignored. -lol- He was also screaming a lot in the beginning. I think this was due more to the environment change than his hormones. But he's getting better about it. When he was persistent, he would get his feet squirted with water. He hates that so it stopped him immediately. He's so used to the fact that [screaming = wet feet] now, that all I have to do his give him "that look" or show him a squirt bottle and he stops. -lol-
Bedtime is sometimes difficult, sometimes easy. I think once he gets used to the routine he will go to bed quietly. He stays up and plays with me and my other birds (we're usually doing homework or blogging while everyone runs around and plays) until around 8pm. That's when he starts to get a little loud. At that point, he goes into the "quiet room" which is the only place he's been comfortable sleeping. He has a night cage in there with a pacifier toy that he picked out and a few perches. Once he settles in for the night he is quiet and content until morning, when I wake him up for a shower. He either comes in the shower with me, or stays in bed with David. Then we leave for work, where he stays for a few hours while I go to school (or actually work!) and then we head home again around 6 every night. Sometimes we go shopping and he draws big crowds, or sometimes we go straight home and relax. :)

We were able to sleep in today (until 9) because I took over a friend's shift which is later in the afternoon. I got up and made omlettes for everyone. I put bird seed in the egg so they had a foraging toy as well as a treat. Snoball got breadcrumbs in his egg.



"Hey Mikey, he likes it!"



We went to work around 10:30 or so and Snoball spent the day playing on the perches there and interacting with customers. He is so spoiled at work. People come in and ask to see Snoball (not me), people ask how Snoball is (not how I am), people ask which toys Snoball recommends (not which toys I recommend), etc. :) Little kids are always stealing treats out of the food bins to bring to Snoball. I don't usually yell at them. (don't tell my boss) ;)

We came home early today and had some fun exploring everyone else's cages and toys. Snoball spent some time in the big comfy chair with me while I did my Detective Fiction homework (reading several detective stories ... go figure). I don't think he liked the stories much - he fell asleep. I'll have to let my professor know that Snoball does not approve. (Yes, I read them out loud to the animals. It helps me to remember the stories better.)

I found a rattle that was originally bought for the bunnies, but thought Snoball might like it. So I tried to hand it to him, but he was being a brat and threw it back at me. "Fine Snoball," I said, "I didn't want you to play with it anyway. Y'know why, Snoball? Because *I* wanted to play with it." And I took off across the living room, using the rattle as a tambourine and singing a song from the musical Chicago. After a while of me dancing around and clapping with the rattle and looking at Snoball as if to say, "Wow, you sure are missing out. Poor Snoball... and to think you could've had this very rattle," Snoball got very upset and insisted that I give him the rattle. He was making a fuss and reaching his foot out and doing his typical unhappy "UGH!!!" -lol- He got the rattle in the end and enjoyed it. He likes for me to hold the rattle and let him take the links in his mouth and shake them back and forth. They make a clicky-clacky noise that way and he gets really excited over it. Sometimes he even puts his head feathers up. :) This is the rattle in question:



I think that's it for today. Tomorrow morning Snoball goes to work while I go to school for 4 hours. (Yuck) Maybe we'll go somewhere afterwards. I've been taking him to fish stores because I want to set up a goldfish tank and I am pricing things out and getting ideas. He's a little unsure about the fish - he doesn't know whether to like them or be afraid of them - but they keep his attention.

Snoball is home

That's Snoball and I *trying* to relax and watch TV uninterrupted, but David was making it difficult. ;)

We picked up Snoball's cage (finally) the night before last and got it all put together. He took to it right away, as if he thought that cage had always belonged to him. He went in for a drink and when he saw the bowl was empty (we hadn't had time to fill it yet since we had JUST finished putting the cage together!) he looked at us as if to say, "Are you two stupid or something? Where's my water? Where's my food?!"

Here's a photo of his cage and his swinging playgym that I made for him (it's three hula hoops wrapped in sisal and tied together). Rufio was taking advantage of the hanging gym at the time...



Snoball and I found that basket and a few of the toys that are in it at a thrift store the other day. I stopped in to see if I could get some blankets for the walls of David's music studio (we're trying to be economical about buffering the sound, and thought old comforters might work. They do, btw.) Anyway, I happened to have Snoball with me so he sat on my shoulder while I browsed. He drew quite a crowd of old women, that's for sure! EVERYONE wanted to pet him, and EVERYONE told him what a handsome bird he was. Of course Snoball turned on the charm, and said "hello" to everyone in turn. We picked up a few things for the house - a new vegetable steamer for $2! and went to check out. They had a shelf of knick knacks on the counter, and Snoball reached over and helped himself to a little plastic tea cup. (Snoball always helps himself to whatever he wants, doesn't he Bev? -lol-) So I told the lady, "Well, I guess we're buying this cup too." It was hysterical. I also bought him a toy cell phone for $0.50! He pulled all the rubber buttons out and broke the thing to pieces but he had a blast, and I only paid 50c. :D



This is the cup toy he picked up. It cost me a whopping $0.25!



I have an appointment to finish up the leasing process on Tuesday morning. After that I should officially be on the lease and Snoball will be home for good. We're going to try to keep him here until all that goes through but he has to remain a secret until I'm on the lease or we could be told he has to go, or David could be evicted. They're silly condo rules, but we're trying to play it safe.

Anyway, that's it for today. More adventures to follow soon. ;)

-Haylee

Nothing Exciting

Unfortunately, I have nothing exciting to update but I thought it was time to do it anyway. Poor Snoball and poor me - we have been separated from each other for the past two weeks! I have not been able to visit him because I am just now getting over a very bad case of mono. I was spending a lot of time in bed and was not feeling up to driving. Even if I felt I were able to drive, I wouldn't have gone to see him since I didn't want to risk getting him (or any of my other birds that were being boarded at the store) sick.


I am well now, and I have been in to see him twice. I packed a nice fruit and bread breakfast for us and spent the morning with him before going to class last week. He was clearly mad at me, and wanted nothing to do with me and nothing to do with the food. I sat and ate while he wandered off in the other direction and started knocking things off the table.


I have been told that he is getting restless. He has been screaming more and more, biting people more often, and ruining everything in sight. Part of this, I'm afraid, is his hormones. I expected this behaviour to some extent so I am trying to take it in stride. The other half of it is that he doesn't like being cooped up at the store all the time. Obviously, the current situation wasn't done on purpose. If I'm sick, I'm sick. But Snoball doesn't understand that. He must think he's been abandoned there.


I return to work tomorrow so the schedule will go back to normal. He'll be able to come out and play a lot more and I'll be able to stop and have breakfast with him before going to class and such. Additionally, our leasing paperwork is in the final stages so Snoball should be able to come home within the next two weeks. We purchased a HUGE (taller than me!) macaw cage for him but we haven't picked it up yet. We're still organizing the apartment and sorting out the roommates' stuff. It's slow going, but we're getting there. I'll be sure to post photos when everything is all finished up.

Snoball Meets His New Sister

I'm back at home with Mom and David for a few days! Mom was really sick last week with Bronchitis so I didn't get to see her much. She had to call out of work on Sunday so I spent the whole day without her. The other girls took good care of me, but they don't play with me the way Mom does. Mom was off 3 days in a row this week so she took me home with her to play! I'm really glad, but it makes me a little confused sometimes. Do I live there? Or do I live here? Or do I live at both places? I'm not really sure yet. I have to ask Mom to clear it up for me.

Yesterday I had a date. :) Mom and David are adopting another cockatoo just like me so that I'll have someone to play with when they're not home. She's a moluccan cockatoo named Pepper. I already know how to say her name because Mom and David told me so much about her. She's older than I am, but she likes to play even more than I do! I went to her house yesterday and we played out on the back patio. Pepper was hopping and flapping and running and jumping all over the place while I watched. She had too much energy. She tried to get me to play, but I hid behind Mom. I'm not sure if I want to play with her just yet. I have to get to know her a little better first.

Today Mom and David and I stayed in bed and watched movies all day.

- That is not true, Snoball. We cleaned the bedroom and the kitchen. And we vaccuumed, thank you very much!

Well we did watch a lot of movies! We watched one called "Spirited Away" that Mom really likes and another one called "My Neighbor Totoro."

I need a bath really bad. My dust is getting everywhere and it's all over my beak. Mom said she'd give me one tonight. I'm going to go eat dinner before my bath. Goodnight now!

Love,

Snoball

Image credit goes to: http://claire-1991.deviantart.com/

Snoball Feeds The Babies

Friday, August 07, 2009 ~

After a rather commonplace day at work - Snoball getting attention from all the customers, throwing his toys and bowls around, opening every nut (or bag of nuts) in sight, and generally causing an endearing ruckus - I had to go handfeed the baby birds ... roughly 52 of them last I checked... Yes, 52 baby birds.

The whole process takes at least an hour, so I brought Snoball into the back with me. He played with (and broke) my hair tie on a towel-covered shelf while I sorted out all of the feeding equipment - syringes, measuring cups, etc. Then I brought him with me onto the counter where everything gets prepared. He sat and watched while I poured, weighed, measured, mixed - all of it. I think he was a little confused, actually. Snoball didn't understand why I was playing with such boring toys, or why I was moving water and formula back and forth from one container to another. Where's the fun in that?

The fun, Snoball discovered, comes when it's time to do the actual feeding. Snoball rode into the nursery on my shoulder for the first time. He was a little startled when a cacophony of crying babies started up. -lol- Snoball just watched for a while, trying to figure out why the babies were crying and what the heck I was doing. It wasn't long, however, before he realized that I was feeding them ... and was most definitely NOT feeding him.

Snoball then proceeded to stick his head into all of the baby buckets, one at a time, trying to steal formula from the syringes before the babies got it! -lol- Most of the babies don't finish all of their formula, so I gave Snoball the leftovers. I handed him a small syringe just to see what he would do with it. He picked it up and turned it over and around, trying to figure out how to get the food out. His first thought - which would have eventually been successful had I not intervened - was to chew the tip off and get the food that way. I didn't want him to break the syringe, so I took it back from him and started dripping it into his mouth. And believe it or not, Snoball actually licked it up, little by little.

When I was setting up the feeding instruments for Katie today, Snoball kept looking at me sideways as if to say, "Well? When does the food come out?" -lol- I guess he'll be my helper from now on when I handfeed the babies. :)

Image credit: http://hahli1994.deviantart.com/

Snoball Goes To The Beach

This post is a little late. Snoball actually went to the beach this past Tuesday (the 4th) but I was feeling very tired and a little sick so I didn't upload the photos. I was away on vacation for roughly 5 days. My family and I went to Tampa and Orlando to see some theme parks and art museums and whatnot. Unfortunately, Snoball and David had to stay behind but they kept each other company.

So, anyway ... the beach! We got up early that morning and went to pick up Snoball from GC. We clipped his wings and packed him a lunch - pellets, treats, grapes and potatoes. We also filled a thermos with filtered water and brought that along for him to drink from. I packed a "toy bag" with a bunch of things from his toy box. He helped pick them out. -lol- He pulled out his rubber ducky (which is now missing its entire beak and both eyes ... I wonder what a psychiatrist would have to say about that if Snoball were ever to go to one ...) his little slinky, some colorful pacifiers, rings, and little knick knacks.

***A note about Snoball's toy box: it's different practically every day. I buy things for him and find things for him - any broken bits from other bird toys go in the toy box; anything he can hold in his foot that will keep his interest. For instance, today one of the caiques at work broke his lattice ball (the ones with the little bells inside). To the caique it was ruined, but to Snoball it was two halves of a chew toy. -lol- I also found two bells that had come off other toys which I gave to Snoball so that he could pull out the clacker, and a bunch of wiffle balls that I tied bits of paper and string to. I buy bags of plastic party favor toys from the dollar store and put a bunch of them in little muffin papers which then go inside a small tupperware. He loves chewing the tupperware open and then crinkling the muffin papers in his feet - which then, of course, reveal even MORE toys! I hide whole nuts, bits of crackers or other food items in there as well. He spends all day digging through his toy box. Honestly, he enjoys that more than anything else I've ever given him.

So, lunch and toys in hand, we all headed off to the beach. It was a clear, sunny day - perfect for the beach. We brought some towels and a big umbrella so that Snoball could be kept out of the sun. We took things slowly - getting out of the car and standing in the parking lot with him, making sure that he was calm before going on. We had to go under a bridge to get onto the actual beach so this was slow going as well. David and I were both sure that Snoball would get spooked by something, but as usual, Snoball was just glad to be out and nothing bothered him at all. Some kids passed by and one of them said excitedly, "Oh, look at the owl!" I think Snoball was a little offended because he didn't offer his typical, "Hi" with foot extended. -lol- David and I both assured Snoball that he was NOT an owl, nor did he look anything like one and carried on. We passed by a small, beach-side restaurant that was playing some upbeat music. Everyone sitting outside was very excited to see Snoball, and he was glad to show off by bouncing along to the music. He's such a ham.

We eventually made it to the seashore. David and I put our towels down and set up the umbrella. David jokingly said, "Here, can you hold this umbrella while I set up the umbrella?" (meaning, 'can you hold snoball while I set up the beach umbrella?' -lol-) Not long after we'd gotten settled down and Snoball figured out that he could climb and swing from the bars that hold the umbrella open, a family came by. They noticed Snoball right away and were very curious. They came over and asked about him and asked to take a picture of him. They were so surprised when Snoball willingly went onto their arms for photos. -lol- Snoball pulled the usual cute poses and talked to the family. David and I explained how he is mostly potty trained and how we take him places when we can, and how loveable Snoball is. We also made sure to explain how cautious we are with him - taking everything slowly, always making sure his wings are clipped, watching his body language to see when he's had enough, etc. The mother fell so in love with Snoball that she started asking me how much they cost, what it was like to have one, what kind of care they needed, etc. By the time we were done talking she said that she was going to go home and do more research on them. Perhaps there will soon be another devoted umbrella cockatoo owner in the world. -lol- :)

We stayed for roughly 30 minutes - not too long because we didn't want Snoball to get hot. We probably could have stayed much longer because Snoball was enjoying it. He hung out under the umbrella (literally) the whole time, except for when we took pictures.


Enjoying the view:

Not enjoying the beach hair... (-lol-)

Watching the planes go by:

Finding seashells:

Lazy, beach bum days have never been better. :)

Making Lunches For Snoball

Every week or so I take a day and prepare a week's worth of food for the birds and the rats and sometimes I'll make some special treats for the bunnies. It's a difficult day involving shopping, cooking, cleaning, packing and storing. But it makes the rest of the week a hundred times easier. Each morning or evening I can just "grab and go" since I keep everything in refridgerated, air-tight containers. I just thought everyone might be curious as to what Snoball's plethora of goodies will include this week.

Of course there are grapes and blueberries in the center of the photo - those are pretty much a constant in Snoball's life. But other than that I try to vary things. Last week he had oranges, apples, kiwi, sweet potato, banana, flax seed crackers, and I can't even remember what else. This week he's having (starting at the upper left corner of the photo and going clockwise around the grapes/blueberries) mashed potatoes, apples, canteloupe, cherry tomatoes, pistachios, animal crackers, and pasta.

Snoball also gets Zupreem brand fruit flavored pellets daily and a dried fruit/nut mix as a treat.

I'd say he's a well-fed bird, wouldn't you? -lol-

-Haylee

I think Snoball felt a lot like that little boy today. He started his day by screaming his lungs out when I brought him out to play. He yelled and screamed while we swept and mopped the floors. After wearing himself out he settled down for a nap. Well, of course once the store opened he couldn't nap in peace because everyone wanted to hold him. That made him grumpy, so I tried to put him back in his cage to rest but he started screaming when I tried to walk away. So I took him back out and left him up front with one of the baby umbrellas. They were fine at first but then the baby tried to play with Snoball and he got mad. That made the baby mad so then they started fighting and Snoball jumped off the perch and ran to another where he finally fell asleep.

Later in the day I took him outside for photos - I was working on photographing tree stands for the website and Snoball was modeling. He enjoyed that - so much so that he screamed when I brought him back in again. I finally put him up on the shelves in the boarding room where I thought he would settle down, but of course he had other plans. Snoball spent probably thirty minutes rearranging all of the bowls on the shelves and putting them all in the wrong bins. Then he started throwing them out onto the floor, one by one. I was trying to wash the dishes in the sink under the shelves so every time he threw one down I'd be hit on the head or the back. I kept having to dodge falling bowls. And then if he threw one and I didn't make a big stink about it and give him attention he'd hang upside down and try to bite my nose.

The end of the day was no better. I took Snoball and Misty (my cockatiel) into the employee area to wash handfeeding equipment. As soon as I turned my back on him, he started making these loud, long screams. I gave him some cheese and he quieted down for a bit. Katie and I went onto the main floor to pick out a toy for the Severe Macaw that I'm fostering, and of course Snoball thought the toys were for him. He kept grabbing them from Katie and trying to play with them, then throwing a fit when she took them away! So we had to buy one for Snoball too... No, he's not spoiled... *rolls eyes*

Thank goodness he actually quieted down and tried to go to sleep when I put him to bed. I think it had something to do with the handful of almonds I put in his bowl, though... -lol-

Hopefully Snoball won't be a spoiled brat tomorrow. *crosses fingers*

-Haylee

Image credit goes to: http://kayjensen.deviantart.com/

Snoball Has Made Lots Of New Friends!

The picture above really has nothing to do with Snoball, but I thought it was a sweet photo. Much like this man, Snoball has been making lots of new friends lately. It took him all of a week or so to figure out that he could get love from strangers if he just did something cute. And if there's one thing Snoball is good at, it's being cute.

In the last few days, Snoball has gained so many fans and admirers at the store, that people come in and ask, "Where's Snoball?" I had a family offer me more than a thousand dollars for him. Much to their dismay, I told them that Snoball was absolutely priceless and was not for sale. He won the hearts of several little girls who brought him papaya by the handful once they found out that he liked it. He had so much papaya at his feet that he didn't know what to do with it all! He's made friends with men and women, both young and old. No one is too small or too big to be Snoball's friend. He even seems to have overcome one of his fears. In the past, Snoball has been a bit, well ... racist. It seems that he had a bad experience with a black male, and ever since then he's been frightened of people with dark skin. But the other day we introduced him to one of David's friends, who happens to be black. Snoball willingly, and of his own accord (without any help from us) stepped onto his shoulder, and began to investigate him. Of course, I'm sure it didn't hurt that Anthony (David's friend) was eating french fries at the time - one of Snoball's favorite foods. -lol-

Anyway, Snoball is doing very well at the store and spends most of his day bouncing on the swinging perches and luring people in with an outstretched foot and a "Hi Snoball." They fall for it every time, and once he's on their arm he makes it impossible for them to put him down! He really knows how to ham it up and work the crowd. He steals treats and toys from customers' baskets and they don't even get mad at him. -lol- I don't think Snoball could possibly be happier.

Snoball Visits His First Family!

I was going to let Snoball write this blog post, but there was so much to say that I thought it would be better if I took over. Snoball and I both had a very busy day, and so did his baby brother (sister?), Carli - the African grey congo. Snoball's first family purchased Carli from where I work not too long ago, and since they were nice enough to bring Snoball ALLLL the way down to see me, I offered to bring Carli ALLLL the way up to them once he (she?) was weaned. So, today was the big day and it all revolved around two very long car rides. (Roughly 2 and a half hours each way!) Snoball decided he wanted to drive so I could rest a little bit...

"Here, Mom, I'll help!"
"Snoball, I don't think that's a very good idea..."
"Why not?"
"Well, because you can't really see over the steering wheel, and you can't really reach the gas pedals, and you don't actually have a driver's license, so..."
"Oh, but Mom, I can do it. Look! See? I just put my foot here like this..."

In the end, Snoball was not allowed to drive. I know, I know - poor Snoball. But to help take your mind off of snoball's disappointment, here are some nice photos of the views from the car:

So after stopping for two bathroom breaks (for the birds and for the humans) and driving for what seemed like an eternity, and nearly getting lost in the boondocks, we arrived at Snoball's house! The house is great and Snoball's family is so nice. They even went out of their way to have lunch ready for us. And not just any lunch, but a whole shmorgas board of vegetarian goodies for me and subs for David. Snoball got in on the action of course - swiping a little from this plate, a little from that plate, and so on. -lol- By the way, where did the term "shmorgas board" originate? What a silly looking (and sounding) word... What is its exact definition anyway? Even when its spelled correctly it doesn't look right... This is distracting me from the story. Anyway...

After lunch we got to see and play with their other birds, and I got a few photos of course. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any photos of their rescued Amazon parrot named Ceasar. He moves a lot and his green feathers reflected the sunlight a little too well, so every shot came out blurry and over-exposed. But I did get some good shots of the others. "The Twinses" are two identical Perfect Lories. They were born and raised together and they're quite small. I'd say they're roughly the size of a cockatiel, but without the long tail. Here's one of them in action - playing on a swinging perch:

And this is Carli - Snoball's new little brother or sister. We all think it's a boy, but we're waiting on the sexing results to come back.

And last but certainly not least is Nikki (I hope I spelled that right). She's a sweetie and believe it or not, she raps and sings and dances. I've only heard her do it once, so I'm waiting (very impatiently) for an encore performance. I brought the video recorder hoping to catch her doing it, but I had no such luck.

We had to leave shortly after that because David had to go in to work. We would've liked to have stayed longer, but, unfortunately, keeping our jobs is too important right now. -lol- Everybody gave Snoball hugs and kisses and spoiled him rotten before we left. He didn't want to get back in the car at first because he didn't understand why we were taking him after he'd just gotten back home. He was nervous when we first sat down and started the car, and when we pulled away from the house he started talking loudly - protesting, I think. So I started to talk to him and I explained that he would see them again soon, and that he was going to come with me and David. I explained to him (again) that he could have fun with us, too, and that his family still loved him very much and they wanted him to be happy. I told him that everybody loved him very much - including David and myself, and just generally tried to make him understand what was happening. (Even though logic says that birds can't completely understand us when we talk to them.)

However, I have always been told that I have a gift when it comes to animals, and a "sixth sense" of sorts. I am a very spiritual person - not necessarily religious, but spiritual - and while I was studying Reiki (the practice of using good energy to "heal") a year or two ago, my Master teacher (so-called because of the amount of time he'd spent studying Reiki) told me that I have a certain energy about me that is very good for animals. I've also been told by a genuine Psychic (David's sister) that I have "a way" with animals. It is as if I have the ability to "sense" or "feel" or "perceive" the emotions and sometimes the ideas/thoughts/perceptions of the animals that I come into contact with. I know it might sound a little crazy, especially depending on your beliefs. But I say all of this because you might not believe the following unless you understand what *I* believe...

On the way back from Snoball's house, when Snoball was speaking loudly, fidgeting, fussing, and generally causing a ruckus, and when I was speaking to him - trying to explain what was happening, I suddenly sensed a change in him. And right about the time that I sensed this change, he quieted down. I felt that at that moment, Snoball finally understood the situation. He'd had it explained to him several times before, and perhaps he thought he understood, but until then it hadn't really clicked. When we drove away from his house and I explained everything again, he was able to fully comprehend it. I suddenly felt so sad driving away from the house. But I had no reason to be sad - Snoball did. He got very quiet and seemed to be thinking of something. He stayed this way for a while, and I tried to comfort him by petting him and telling him that I loved him. A while later he climbed up onto David's shoulder and looked at me. This time I sensed another change: Snoball seemed to have accepted it. He was certainly still a little sad, but more importantly, he was ok with it. And it was as if he knew that although he was sad, things would get better. He stayed quietly on David's shoulder for a long time, and finally fell asleep there.

The fact that he fell asleep was very surprising because Snoball is afraid to ride in the car. He is very uncomfortable with it and he gets car sick. Never in a million years would I have thought he'd be comfortable enough to fall asleep in it. But he did...

It makes me sad to think about how Snoball must feel right now. I'm sure he is confused. He knows that he is loved - that much is for sure, but he's just very unsure of things for now. I know that he will adjust and I know that he will be happy with us, because he has been happy for the past week. Snoball really enjoys going out and spending time with us and playing at work with me. But it'll take him a while to get used to his new home. I was told not too long ago by David's sister (the psychic) that Snoball would be sad about the change, but that within two weeks or less he would be back to his normal, happy, bouncy self. She has definitely freaked me out on a number of occasions with her "psychic-ness" and has correctly predicted MANY events in our lives, so I have no doubt that she will be right about this, too.

Change can be very difficult for all of us - everyone in Snoball's life right now can attest to that. But I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and I know in my heart that everything will turn out for the best in the end. If Snoball has already accepted and understood the situation, then it can only be a matter of time before he is loving life and laughing again. For now, I'll continue to show him love and help him to have a good time. I don't think it'll take more than a day before we're seeing this happy face again!

Oh poo, now that I've made myself gloomy from talking about such serious subjects, I think I'll go have some chocolate ice cream and play a game of "Plants vs. Zombies." It's supposed to be a kid's game, but it's very addicting. The idea is to protect your house from zombies with plants. Each plant performs a different function, and you need all of them functioning together in order to defeat the zombies. The trick is to organize them on a grid in the best order and in the least amount of time so that you can kill all the zombies before they make it to your front door. I know... >_> it sounded absurd to me too. But the repetition and simplicity of it (plus the ADORABLE plant characters and the cute sound effects) make it very fun and relaxing.

So, until Snoball's next adventure...

-Haylee

The Pictures I Couldn't Post Before

I'm back from putting Snoball to bed so I wanted to post a few more photos. These are the photos I couldn't post before, while he was here. (I didn't want to embarrass him or bruise his ego, afterall.)

Snoball and David cuddling on his tree stand:



And my favorites - Snoball discovered a mirrored wall in the apartment today. At first he seemed a little confused, but then he decided to flirt a little with the "other bird" and see if he could convince it to scratch his head for him. -lol-

Please don't tell Snoball I posted these!!! :D